Study reveals record rise in insulin use

Insulin use to treat type 2 diabetes trebles over 20 years

2014-02-07

(Press-News.org) "Understanding the pattern of insulin use is limited by a lack of data characterising the prevalence of insulin use in the UK," according to Craig Currie, Professor of Applied Pharmacoepidemiology at Cardiff University's School of Medicine, who led the study alongside colleagues from the University of Bristol.

"Given the limitations, our study sought to calculate – for the first time – the best possible estimate of the rates of insulin for type 1 and type 2 diabetes."

In this retrospective study the team examined the number of patients receiving prescriptions for insulin between 1991 and 2010.

The study found that the number of people using insulin trebled between 1991 and 2010, largely due to a large increase in the number of people with type 2 diabetes using the drug.

It estimates that the number of insulin users in the UK increased from 136,800 in 1991 to 421,300 in 2010.

The study also found that the number of people receiving prescriptions for insulin for type 2 diabetes during the period, overtook the number of people with type 1 diabetes.

In 1991, more people using insulin had type 1 diabetes than had type 2 diabetes however, by 2010 this situation had reversed with the total number of people with type 2 diabetes injecting insulin increased from 37,000 in 1991 to 277,400 in 2010.

Professor Currie adds: "As a result of the study, we found that the number of people injecting insulin in the UK increased three-fold over the 20-year period from 1991 to 2010.

"Also during this period there was more than a seven-fold increase in the number of those with a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes and treated with insulin. Most of this is unrelated to clinical need. Insulin is very expensive and some of us believe that it involves too many serious side effects in people with type 2 diabetes."

Whilst the study strikes a note of caution with its findings, most notably with early stages of the timescales of the reporting being less well recorded, the study does give a clear indication that the number of people with type 2 diabetes using insulin has risen sharply.

"The rising prevalence of insulin use probably reflects both an increase in incidence and longer survival of those who already have type 2 diabetes. The financial cost of insulin to the NHS in the UK is estimated to have increased from £156M in 2000 to £359M in 2009.

"The increase in the number of people with type 2 diabetes using insulin is a wake-up call for all – not only in terms of lifestyle choices and how we treat people with type 2 diabetes," Professor Currie adds.

INFORMATION: END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Rett syndrome genetic variants now available for advance testing, diagnosis & research

2014-02-07

Philadelphia, PA, February 7, 2014 – Despite the identification of gene mutations in methyl CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) being linked to Rett syndrome (RS), research has been hindered by the lack of commercially available reference materials. Through collaboration between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and members of the clinical-laboratory and non-profit–research communities, 35 DNA samples containing many common RS genetic variants have now been characterized and made publicly available, eliminating a major stumbling-block for investigators and ...

New guidelines for reducing stroke risks unique to women

2014-02-06

For the first time, guidelines have been developed for preventing stroke in women. "If you are a woman, you share many of the same risk factors for stroke with men, but your risk is also influenced by hormones, reproductive health, pregnancy, childbirth and other sex-related factors," said Cheryl Bushnell, M.D., M.H.S., author of the new scientific statement published in the American Heart Association journal Stroke. The guidelines outline stroke risks unique to women and provide scientifically-based recommendations on how best to treat them, including: Women with a ...

Cholesterol plays a critical role in hantavirus infection

2014-02-06

Viruses mutate fast, which means they can quickly become resistant to anti-viral drugs. But viruses also depend on proteins and nutrients provided by their hosts, and therefore one strategy to identify new anti-viral drugs is to identify and target such host-cell components. A paper published on February 6th in PLOS Pathogens reports that proteins involved in the regulation of cholesterol are essential for hantavirus entry into human host cells. There are only about 30 known human cases of hantavirus infection in the US per year (with the 2012 cluster in Yosemite National ...

Toxin in seafood causes kidney damage in mice at levels considered safe for consumption

2014-02-06

Washington, DC (February 6, 2014) — A chemical that can accumulate in seafood and is known to cause brain damage is also toxic to the kidneys, but at much lower concentrations. The findings, which come from a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN), suggest that officials may need to reconsider what levels of the toxin are safe for human consumption. The world's oceans contain algae that produce certain chemicals that can be harmful to humans and other living creatures. Many of these chemicals are considered neurotoxins ...

Acute kidney injury may be a risk factor for later heart problems

2014-02-06

Washington, DC (February 6, 2014) — Patients who experience abrupt kidney injury following surgery have an increased risk of later developing heart problems, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (JASN). The findings suggest that properly treating and monitoring patients with acute kidney injury (AKI) could help protect their heart health. AKI, an sudden decline in kidney function, is an increasingly prevalent and potentially serious condition in hospitalized patients. Sometimes acute kidney injury arises ...

Reduce the chloride to restore the switch

2014-02-06

This news release is available in French. A drug given to pregnant mice with models of autism prevents autistic behavior in their offspring, a new report shows, and though the drug could not be administered prenatally in humans (there is no way to screen for autism in human fetuses), clinical trials of this drug administered later in development, in young children who have already developed autistic symptoms, are showing progress. The causes of autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, are complex and not well understood. Prolonged excitation of brain neurons seems partly ...

The ultimate decoy: Scientists find protein that helps bacteria misdirect immune system

2014-02-06

LA JOLLA, CA—February 6, 2014—A team led by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) has discovered an unusual bacterial protein that attaches to virtually any antibody and prevents it from binding to its target. Protein M, as it is called, probably helps some bacteria evade the immune response and establish long-term infections. If follow-up studies confirm Protein M's ability to defeat the antibody response, it is likely to become a target of new antibacterial therapies. The protein's unique ability to bind generally to antibodies also should make it a valuable ...

Decoding dengue and West Nile: Researchers take steps toward control of health proble

2014-02-06

ANN ARBOR—Dengue fever and West Nile fever are mosquito-borne diseases that affect hundreds of millions of people worldwide each year, but there is no vaccine against either of the related viruses. A team of scientists at the University of Michigan and Purdue University has discovered a key aspect both to how the viruses replicate in the cells of their host and how they manipulate the immune system as they spread. In a study scheduled for online publication Feb. 6 in the journal Science, researchers led by Janet Smith of the U-M Life Sciences Institute describe for ...

Autism: Birth hormone may control the expression of the syndrome in animals

2014-02-06

This news release is available in French. The scientific community agrees that autism has its origins in early life—foetal and/or postnatal. The team led by Yehezkel Ben-Ari, Inserm Emeritus Research Director at the Mediterranean Institute of Neurobiology (INMED), has made a breakthrough in the understanding of the disorder. In an article published in Science, the researchers demonstrate that chloride levels are elevated in the neurons of mice used in an animal model of autism, and remain at abnormal levels from birth. These results corroborate the success obtained ...

Opening 'the X-files' helped researchers to understand why women and men differ in height

2014-02-06

Researchers from the University of Helsinki analyzed thoroughly the commonly occurring genetic variation in chromosome X, one of the two sex-determining chromosomes, in almost 25,000 Northern European individuals with diverse health-related information available. The aim of the study was to find genetic factors that could explain individual differences in several traits, including BMI, height, blood pressure and lipid levels. In addition, the researchers also investigated whether the X chromosome would contribute to some of the well-known differences between men and women ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Printed skin to replace animal testing

Precision medicine could be possible in the fight against antibiotic resistance

Researchers at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University identify new targeted approach to protect neurons against degeneration

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

[Press-News.org] Study reveals record rise in insulin use
Insulin use to treat type 2 diabetes trebles over 20 years